Double compartment carton and blank therefor



1968 R. A. KRZYZANOWSKI 3,412,924

DOUBLE COMPARTMENT CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR July 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY 1968 R. A. KRZYZANOWSKI 3,

DOUBLE COMPARTMENT CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed July 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ROBERT A. KRZYZANOWSKI BY flwww ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,412,924 DOUBLE COMPARTMENT CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR Robert A. Krzyzanowski, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor t0 Milprint, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 28, 1966, Ser. No. 568,481 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A double compartment carton with two opposed walls having an intermediate portion closer to each other than the outer extremities of the wall panels, and a severance zone extending around the carton along which the carton is severable into two portions, each of which portions may carry packaged articles.

This invention relates to cartons of the type that have two inner compartments in which articles can be packaged.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a carton, and a blank from which the carton can be erected, which has two inner compartments for the reception of merchandise wherein the compartments are not completely separated from each other by a structural panel but, instead, communicate with one another. Another is to provide a carton which has inner compartments defined on two sides by walls having some portions closer to each other than other portions of the Walls. Another main object is to provide a carton structure wherein flaps that close the ends of the carton are utilized to brace or reinforce the carton structure in order to hold the walls in the desired configuration.

Some other principal obpects are to provide a twocompartment carton wherein articles can be inserted in each compartment in such fashion as to have a slight space between the articles in one compartment and the articles in the other; to provide a two-compartment carton that is separable along a circumferential dividing line into the respective compartments; and to provide a twocompartment carton which can be erected by a packager with a minimum of extra mechanical equipment or with extra mechanical machinery of relative minim-a1 cost.

A more specific object is to provide the particular new or improved details of construction hereinafter claimed. The foregoing and other objects will appear in the description which follows.

Generally speaking, the objects of this invention are accomplished through the provision of a carton and a blank therefor having four main wall panels defining a tube-like carton body and wherein two opposed wall panels are constructed to have an intermediate portion of each wall panel closer to each other than the outer extremities of such panels. Closure flaps are attached to the ends of 'said opposed Wall panels and have a configuration such that they engage the other two wall panels of the carton to aid in holding the walls in the position desired in the erected carton. In order to provide for separating the carton into two portions or receptacles, a circumferential tear line may be included in the carton structure.

The ensuing description presents a presently contemplated best mode for construction of a carton according to the present invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown, by way of illustration and not of limitation, a specific form in which this invention may be practiced. This is described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to comprehend "ice this invention, but is to be understood that other embodiments of the invention may be devised and that structural changes in the embodiment described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true scope of this invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for erection into the carton of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carton erected from the blank shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional View of the carton shown in FIG. 2 taken along the plane of line 33 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the carton shown in FIG. 2 taken along the plane of line 44 thereof; and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the carton taken along the plane of line 5-5 as indicated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carton in FIG. 2 separated into two separate elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a blank 10 comprising a sheet of paperboard or other suitable carton material which is cut and scored to define the several wall panels and other structural elements. The principal wall panels are a top wall 11, a side wall 12, a bottom wall 13, and a side wall 14, said Walls being connected to each other in the illustrated sequence along spaced parallel fold lines 15 which are formed as scored or creased portions of the sheet of material from which the blank 10 is cut. The top wall 11 has a glue flap 16 joined to its outer edge along another fold line 15.

Each side wall 12 and 14 is divided into two panels, a first side wall panel 17 and a second side wall panel 18, by means of a dividing line or zone 19, also formed as a portion of the blank. In the form illustrated, the dividing line 19 comprises an alternating sequence of slits 20 and perforations 21, for the purposes hereinafter explained.

The blank 10 can be erected into a four sided sleeve upon hinging of the walls about the fold lines 15, with the glue flap 16 joined to the inner portion of the side wall L4 to hold the carton in a rectangular tube-like carton body having opposed walls of the same size. The ends of the sleeve are closed by means of flaps joined to each wall 1144. Outer flaps 25 are hinged to each end of the bottom wall 13 and outer flaps 26 are joined to each end of the top wall 11. Inner flaps 27 are joined to each end of each first side wall panel 17 and inner flaps 28 are joined to each end of each second side wall panel 18. The outer flaps 25 and 26- are joined to their respective walls along fold lines 29 and the inner flaps '27 and 28 are joined to their respective wall panels along fold lines 30, about which fold lines the flaps can be hinged to a position to close the end of the carton. The edge 31 of each inner flap 27 which faces the bottom wall 13- is cut-back so as to be at an acute angle to the end of the first side wall panel to which the flap is joined, this angle being indicated by the reference letter A. The edge 32 of each inner flap 28 which faces the top wall 11 (when the carton is erected) is cut to be at an acute angle B to the end of the second side wall panel 18 to which it is joined. The angles A and B are each less than ninety degrees being about seventy-five degrees in the form illustrated, although other angles can be used. Also, the angles A and B are shown as being equal to each other, but they may be unequal.

The edge 33 of each inner flap 27 opposite from edge 31 is cut away or notched in the manner illustrated in the drawings, for the purpose stated hereinafter, although other constructions may also be used for this edge on the respective flaps.

The blank 10 may be formed of any suitable carton material. such as paperboard, cardboard or other foldable sheet material including plastics. The blank may be uncoated or can include functional coatings such as heat scalable coatings, barrier coatings, etc. as are of general use in the carton art. The various fold lines can be formed in the blank by any suitable creasing or scoring mechanism which will define a line about which the carton material can be folded, and the line can be of any construction that will form a hinge portion. The various flaps and panels can be die-cut by known mechanisms. Although the divider line 19 is shown above in a specific construction, other tear line types of constructions can be used, such as a series of perforations, spaced slits, weakened lines on one or both sides of the blank which are cut partially through the thickness of the board, or a series of bent or hook shaped slits.

A carton erected from the blank of the preceding construction is shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2. As can be seen, the top and bottom walls are parallel to each other, but each side wall is folded inwardly along the dividing line 19, so that the intermediate portion of each side wall is closer together'than are the outer extremities of each side wall along the fold lines 15. The carton body thus formed has side walls which are V-shaped and comprises two compartments, an upper compartment 36 and a lower compartment 37 (best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4). The carton is retained in this position by means of the co-action of the inner flaps 27 and 28 and outer flaps and 26.

Turning now to the interior view shown in FIG. 3, in which one end of the carton is visible, after the blank 10 is formed into a tube, the inner flaps 27 and 28 connected to the side wall panels 17 and 18 are folded inwardly about their respective fold lines 30. The outer flaps 25 and '26 are folded inwardly about their fold lines 29 so as to overlie the inner flaps. The edges 31 of the inner flaps 27 and the edges 32 of the inner flaps 28 engage the underside or interior portion of their adjacent bottom and top walls, respectively, along or adjacent the fold lines 29. This engagement or co-action between the inner flaps and walls serves to hold the walls of the carton in their respective positions and lends a bracing or reinforcing effect to the carton structure. It has been found that this provides a sturdy carton in which the top and bottom walls and the two side walls are restrained from collapse, to thereby preserve the structural integrity of the carton.

One manner of joining the outer flaps is by forming a glue tab 38 along each end of the outer flaps 26 attached to the top wall 11, in the form illustrated, said glue flaps being joined to the outer flaps by means of a severance line 39 which may be of the same construction as the dividing line 19, and after the inner flaps are folded into position, the outer flaps 25 and 26 at each end are glued together along the glue tabs 38, as best shown in FIG. 5. In addition, the flaps 25 and 26 can be glued or otherwise joined to parts of the inner flaps 27 and 28 which they overlie. In this fashion, the outer flaps, whether or not joined to the inner flaps, aid in holding the inner flaps in their final position. When the carton is thusly erected, the first and second side wall panels 17 and 18 of each side wall have an included angle C between them which is equal to the sum of the angles A and B, this being about one hundred and fifty degrees in the embodiment depicted. As indicated in FIG. 3, the notched edges 33 of the inner flaps 27 allow clearance around tab 38 when it is joined to the outer flap 25 attached to the bottom wall. When the carton is in this erected condition, the severance line 39 is to coincide with the divider lines 19 formed in the side walls for the reasons explained below. The edges of the outer flaps 25 form the angle A with their fold lines 29 and the edges of the outer flaps '26 form the angle B with their fol-d lines 29 so that these boundaries of the outer flaps conform with the transverse shape of the side walls when the carton is erected.

It has been further found that the triangular corners formed between the top and bottom walls and their adjacent side walls, indicated as corners D in FIG. 3, are stronger than a right angle corner and this feature further enhances the strength of the erected or completed carton.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show sectional views of the carton when it is used to package two articles, one in each of the inner compartments. Each article shown herein includes a plastic tray filled with a commodity 41 and covered by a lid 42. The sides 43 of the tray in the upper compartment 36 contact the second side wall panel 18 of the side walls 12 and 14 and the height of the carton relative to the height of the tray is selected so that the bottom 44 of the tray is spaced slightly above the plane of the two dividing lines 19. The tray 40 in the bottom compartment 37 is inverted with its lid 42 along the bottom wall 13 of the carton, and its bottom 44 is spaced slightly below the plane of the dividing lines 19. In this fashion, there is a suspension packaging feature due to the fact that the articles in the two inner compartments of the carton are maintained out of contact with each other when the carton is loaded. Thus, there is space between the two articles which prevents one article from damaging the other and this is an especially valuable feature of the present carton when used in packaging fragile articles or other articles in which no contact is wanted between them.

One mode of utilizing the carton illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 is indicated in FIG. 6. When it is decided to open the carton in order to withdraw its contents, the carton may be separated into two tray-like receptacles, each containing an article. This is accomplished by separating the carton along the dividing lines 19 and the severance lines 39. As indicated above in this description, the severance lines 39 are formed in the outer flaps 26 in such position as to be in the plane of the dividing lines 19 defined in the side walls 12 and 14. In this fashion, a circumferential severance line or tear line is defined in the carton walls. The user of the package can separate the carton into two portions along this circumferential tear line, made up of the divider lines 19 and severance lines 39. The condition as illustrated in FIG. 6 is thereby obtained in which one of the receptacles has a main panel formed by the top wall 11 of the carton and the other receptacle has a main panel formed by the bottom wall 13 of the carton. The user can then extract the article from one of these receptacles for use, and store the other receptacle with its enclosed article until such time as it is to be used. If desired, each of the walls 11 and 13 can carry printing, including decorative matter as well as advertising matter, so that when the carton is separated into two receptacles each presents an attractive appearance. As stated previously, the tray 40 positioned in the lower compartment 37 of the carton may be placed with its bottom 44 at the narrow end (with reference to the transverse width) of the compartment so that when the receptacle formed from this part of the carton is stored, the tray 40 can rest on its bottom. Naturally, other modes of arranging articles within each compartment of the carton are possible. This action of separating the carton into the two receptacles can be readily performed by a consumer who is to use the packaged articles.

There has thus been described a carton, and a blank therefor, having a carton body comprising two opposed parallel walls and two opposed walls which are bent inwardly towards each other to have their medial portions relatively closer together than their outer extremities, and which carton has closure flaps joined to the ends of the walls with some of the closure flaps adapted to engage interior portions of the parallel walls to hold the carton in its desired configuration. In the illustrated form, the bent opposed walls are formed of two panels and the junctions of the two panels of the side walls are closer together than the edges of the panels joined to the top or bottom walls. The carton thus has two inner compartments, each being trapezoidal in cross-section. While a specific embodiment of this invention has been disclosed herein, it should be borne in mind that changes can be made in it and result in a carton that will still remain within the scope of this invention. Although glue flaps have been shown as the means for joining the outer flaps together and as means to join the side wall and top wall, other constructions can be used; for example, locking tabs and mating locking slits can be formed in the outer flaps in order to secure the two together. Also, heat seals may be used to hold the structural members of the carton together to form an enclosed container. The carton, as shown herein, is formed into two compartments which are separable along a circumferential tear line; although the tear line arranged in this manner provides added utility to the carton, it may be omitted if desired and entrance to the carton can be obtained through the end.

The carton may be used to package many different types of articles, both food and non-food items. As an example, the trays shown in the disclosed embodiment may contain margarine or similar products which require some type of outer container even though packaged in a carton. The carton may also be used to package light bulbs, wax paper, napkins, frozen food, hardware items, etc. Although a tray is shown as an inner container for holding packaged articles, other containers such as pouches can be utilized and, depending upon the nature of the product packaged, the inner containers can be eliminated entirely.

This invention provides a double compartment container which does not require the use of an extension or panel portion to completely separate the two compartments as is the case with many styles of prior art double compartment cartons. Double compartments of the typical prior art construction require the use of extra carton material for such packages and also require highly specialized and costly machinery for erecting the cartons; in constrast, the carton of the present invention uses less carton material and can also be utilized by packagers on standard packaging machinery by adding a mechanical attachment of very moderate cost, such as on the order of about one thousand dollars or so. Generally, the carton of this invention can be erected with equipment normally used to erect sleeve-type cartons. These features of the present carton enhance its potential in the packaging field and will allow many packagers to obtain the benefits of double compartment cartons for their goods without the in creased costs attendant upon the typical prior art forms of double compartment cartons.

The suspension packaging feature that is obtainable with the present carton, mentioned in the preceding disclosure, is valuable for many types of articles but, again depending upon the type of article packed, may be omitted and the articles packed in one compartment may contact those in the other compartment; thus, the carton can be used in packaging articles in other arrangements than that specifically shown. The carton also has a physical appearance which makes it clear to the purchaser that it has two compartments, thereby lessening the chances of a consumer from becoming confused by the package construction.

In the preceding description and in the claims, the words top, bottom and side are used in order to simplify and clarify the description, but not to limit the scope of the claims. Thus, what is referred to as a top wall may be the bottom of a particular container or even the side; hence, such terms are used to identify a wall or panel for purposes of description but not to limit its position in a carton or blank. It is intended that terms pertaining to relative position, shape or structure be construed as generically as the art will allow.

Still other variations other than those specifically enumerated are possible. It is to be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiment of this invention herein illustrated and described, and other embodiments not shown, which do not constitute a departure from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A carton blank including a top wall, a first side wall, a bottom wall, and a second side wall, with the top wall joined to one edge of the first side wall and the bottom wall joined to an opposite edge thereof, and with the second side wall joined to an edge of the bottom wall opposite from the first side wall, wherein:

(1) said side walls each comprise a first side wall panel and a second side wall panel foldable towards one another, with the first side wall panels of each side wall arranged to be adjacent the bottom Wall when the blank is erected into a carton and with the second side wall panels of each side wall arranged to be arranged to be adjacent the top wall;

(2) a first closure flap is joined to each end of each first side wall panel, each first closure flap having a first edge adjacent the bottom wall that is at an acute angle to the end of the first side wall panel to which the flap is joined;

(3) a second closure flap is joined to each end of the second side wall panel, each second closure flap having a first edge adjacent the top wall that is at an acute angle to the end of the second side wall panel to which the fiap is joined;

(4) a third closure flap is joined to each end of the top and bottom walls; and

(5) the first and second side wall panels of each side wall are joined together along a severance zone, and one of the third closure flaps at each end of the carton includes a tab joined to it along a second severance zone, which tab is to overlap the other third closure flap at each end when the blank is erected into a carton, said severance zones defining a circumferential tear line along which a carton erected from the blank is severable into two portions;

said blank being foldable into a carton having a tubelike body defined by the top, bottom and side walls having its ends closed by the closure flaps assembled in a condition wherein the first edge of the first closure flaps underlie a marginal portion of the bottom wall and the second closure flaps underlie a marginal portion of the top wall and engage such marginal portions when the carton is in an assembled shape wherein the junctions of the first and second side wall panels of each side wall are closer together than the edges of the side walls joined to their respective top and bottom walls.

2. A package comprising:

(1) a carton having a top wall, bottom wall and two opposed side walls, said walls joined along edge portions to define a tube-like body; the side walls each comprising two side wall panels arranged at an angle to each other and having an included angle of less than measured on the exterior of the carton;

(2) closure flaps hinged to the ends of each wall comprising first closure flaps joined to each end of one of the side wall panels of each side wall, second closure flaps joined to each end of the other side wall panel of each side wall, and third closure flaps joined to each end of the top and bottom walls, each first closure flap having a first edge adjacent the bottom wall that is at an acute angle to the end of the side wall panel to which the flap is joined, and each second closure flap having a first edge adjacent the top wall that is at an acute angle to the end of the side wall panel to which the flap is joined; said flaps being arranged to close the ends of the tube-like carton body with the first and second closure flaps folded into a position wherein their first edges engage a marginal portion of their respective adjacent top or bottom wall, and with the third closure flaps folded into position to overlie the first and second closure 7 flaps; and means joining the third closure flaps together;

(3) .said carton having two inner compartments which communicate along the junction of the first and second side wall panels;

(4) at least one article arranged in each compartment;

and

(5) a severance zone defined in the carton along the junction of each first and second side Wall panel and along portions of the third closure flaps which cross the plane of said junctions, thereby defining a circumferential tear line along which the carton is severable into two portions, each portion carrying articles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner. 

